Rollover Accidents: Minimal in Number but Alarmingly Dangerous
In the United States, vehicles are a necessity in life. Through it, the burden and the effort of going from one place to another are lessen. However, road accidents may happen on the road, which can be an instrument of death to others. Vehicular accidents may occur in different ways, one of which is a rollover accident.
Vehicle rollover accidents seldom happens compared to other types of crashes but the fatalities it caused is continuously increasing though the years. Though it only covers around 3% of the total vehicle accidents, it accounts for 31% of the overall fatalities that are caused by such accidents.
Records from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Management (NHSTA) show that about 10,666 people had died as a result of being involved in a vehicle rollover accident in 2002. There is a 5% increase in the fatality figure compared to the statistics in the prior year.
Rollover emerges as the leading category of highway fatality. According to NHSTA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis, the number of passenger vehicle occupants who died in all motor vehicle crashers increased by 4% from 1991 to 2001, while rollover accident fatalities boosted by 10%.
In addition, other records from the NHSTA revealed that majority of rollover accidents involve a single vehicle.
Rollover Accidents: Causing Serious Injuries
Being involved in a rollover accident can cause the victim to obtain head injuries. Head trauma is the most common nonfatal and fatal injury that a person involved in a rollover accident can obtain.
The large number of crashes wherein the passengers are thrown out from their the vehicle when rollover crashes happen results to the high possibility that persons involved in these accidents will obtain serious injuries or even die.
What Triggers This Accident to Occur
These accidents are directly linked to a vehicle's stability when it comes to turning, which will be influenced by the relationship between the tack width and the center of gravity. If there is a high center of gravity and a narrow track, it can cause a vehicle to become unstable in sharp changes of direction or in sharp turns. As a result, it will add to the possibility that the vehicle may tip over once it began to skid sideways.
Other vehicle accident types:
Aside from rollover accidents there are various types of crashes, which can bring distress, injuries, or death to a person. Other vehicle accident types include:
• side impact collisions
• back up accidents
• rear end collisions
• truck under ride accidents
• head on collisions
SUVs: Prone to Rollover accidents Compared to other passenger vehicle, statistics show that Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) are more likely to become involved in a rollover accident.
There are different design defects that SUVs can possess which can increase the chance of rollovers from taking place. Some of the possible safety issues are:
• the vehicle is not equipped with laminated safety glass which would help stop the passengers from being ejected when rollovers happens
• the vehicle is defective in its stability and handling because it is prone to heavy over steering by drivers, thus increasing the possibility of a rollover
• the vehicle has defective seatbelts because they do not automatically tighten and retract during an accident
• the vehicle is equipped with door latches that are defective and too weak to hold the doors shut when a rollover accident happens, which will cause that passengers to be thrown out of the vehicle
• the vehicle may have a deficient roof-strength, which may cause it to collapse rollover accident happens
In 2003, NHSTA stated that the rate of the persons who died in SUVs that rolled over increased by 14% in 2002. In addition, rollover accidents account for 61% of all SUV fatalities.
To help you with personal injury issues such as rollover accidents, you can consult with our expert Los Angeles personal injury attorneys. You can visit our website and avail of our free case analysis.
About the Author
Jan Camille has fascination for reading and writing. She finished AB Journalism in one of the famous universities. She aims to pursue a degree in law and at the same time continue to write. She wants to inspire others through her writings because she believes that writing is an instrument that can touch other people’s minds and hearts.
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